


Hostage Situation

by burning_books



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Kidnapping, Malcolm Bright Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:55:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27794968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burning_books/pseuds/burning_books
Summary: The NYPD has an open-and-shut case on their hands, or so they think. But it's never that simple. Why doesn't anyone ever just listen to Bright when he says someone doesn't fit the profile?
Relationships: Malcolm Bright & Dani Powell, Malcolm Bright/Dani Powell
Comments: 2
Kudos: 46





	Hostage Situation

"Bright, come on, let it go! She confessed, it's over. Case closed," Gil said before storming out of the conference room. Dani remained, staring at Malcolm, who was lost in thought and clearly perturbed.

"Iris didn't do it. I know she didn't," he mumbled, not quite under his breath. "Her husband may have been cheating with the victim - with Maria - but Iris doesn't have it in her." 

"Bright, are you sure? We found her fingerprints on the body AND the murder weapon. Her bloody clothes were in her bedroom. Everything points to her," Dani said.

"I'm positive, Dani. She doesn't fit the profile. She's not organized enough to pull this off. She's not violent or jealous. Maria... the way we found her posed so perfectly... Iris Meadows isn't a killer. She's scared. Richard, though..." he trailed off. "Iris is being framed and I just need a little more time-"

"What if you're wrong, Bright? She's a pretty, skinny blond, playing coy to throw off your senses. I know you like them like that," Dani said bitterly. "You heard her flirting with you in the interrogation." Her mind filled with images of Bright and Eve, and it made her feel seasick. 

"But she doesn't fit the profile-"

"It's not always about the profile! What if your profile is just wrong?"

"You have to believe me!" Bright begged. 

"I don't have to do anything, Malcolm Whitly!"

That shut him up. The hurt in his eyes was sharp and sudden as shattered glass. He stood up, shoved his chair into the table, stormed out and slammed the door hard enough that the blinds on the window rattled. 

Dani let him go. 

That was her worst mistake yet.

She'd never regretted a conversation so much in her life. She was already on edge, with it being her dad's birthday and all, and Malcolm unknowingly pulled her until she snapped. It'd been three days since the argument - that was the last time any of them had seen Bright. The team was on edge, constantly watching their phones for a message from him. The radio silence was unnerving, especially knowing Bright wasn't finished with this case even if everyone else swore up and down Iris did it. In the meantime, Iris was in a holding cell awaiting trial. 

Day four, a package came in to Major Crimes, addressed to Dani. No return address. It was a DVD, unlabeled. Gil and JT sat in tense silence while she popped it into the player. The screen flickered to life.

And there he was. Malcolm Bright. He was tied to a chair in a well-lit room with white cement walls, wearing only a bloodstained undershirt and torn dress pants, hair a tangled mess. His face and arms were covered in bruises and dried blood. Worse, his eyes were red and puffy - he'd been crying.

"As long as you have Iris Meadows in custody, I will remain here," Malcolm said, his voice shaky. "If she is sentenced to prison, I will die." His voice cracked and so did Dani's heart. "My captor... says it's only fair. An eye for an eye."

"Bring Iris to the western corner of Central Park at ten pm tonight. My captor will kill me if she is... if she's absent or harmed in any way."

Dani's eyes were glued to the screen, searching Malcolm's face for answers to any of the questions running rampant in her mind. Where was he? Who had him?

Suddenly the camera was knocked over, pointing toward a blank wall. From out of view, a man's voice growled: "Iris is innocent, you fucking police bastard, and you're gonna pay for arresting her!"

Bright whimpered an "I know," but it was cut off by a sickening crunch and a pain-filled scream. 

The screen went black. Dani's attention turned to Gil, who held the remote in his hand. "That boy always pays for our mistakes, doesn't he?" he said quietly. "The brass are gonna have my head for this, but there's nothing else we can do. We have to trust Bright and let Iris go." Dani and JT nodded solemnly. Gil set the remote on the table, moved for the door. "You two get home, get some rest. Be back here by nine sharp tonight. I gotta make a few calls." Gil left the conference room door open and shut himself in his office.

"Dani," JT said, "you okay?"

She swallowed hard, fighting to ignore the lump in her throat. "Yeah-" her voice cracked. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"You sure? I know how much Bright means to you... maybe you should come back to my place for a while?

"No thanks, JT, I'll be alright by myself. See you at nine, though."

Dani managed to make it to her car before the tears started flowing. "It's my fault," she whispered to herself. "Malcolm is in danger and it's my fault. I shouldn't have been so cruel, I shouldn't have said anything, I should've trusted him..." She rested her forehead on the steering wheel, shoved her hands into her hair. Guilt and misery filled her lungs, choked her, threatened to drown her. She took a few breaths, trying to gather herself enough to drive home. 

At eight forty-five, Dani gave up trying to hide the puffy red circles under her eyes, got back into her car, and drove to the precinct. 

She met Gil and JT on the steps, Iris close behind and in handcuffs. "You okay, Dani?" Gil asked. 

"Let's just go get Bright," was all she said. 

They made it out to the spot in Central Park in near-record time, arriving at just two minutes to ten. 

When the clock finally ticked over to ten sharp, two shadowy figures emerged from behind some trees. One was limping. When they got close enough, Dani could tell it was definitely Bright - she had to lock her knees to stop herself from running for him. His hands were tied behind him, a strip of tape over his mouth. 

"Give her to me and I'll think about returning this fucker to you," growled the man - Iris's husband, Richard. He had a knife to Bright's throat. 

JT uncuffed her and gave her a gentle push forward. She walked toward Richard, slowly. Hesitant. 

She stopped. "No," she said. "I don't - I don't wanna go home with you and pretend everything is normal." 

"You stupid bitch, you'll do as I say," Richard yelled, releasing Bright to grab Iris by the wrist. She fought him and broke away. "What did you do to her, you fucking cops?!" he screamed, turning again to Bright, knife poised to strike. Everything happened at once after that. 

"Bright, RUN!" Dani yelled and he took off. The knife grazed his shoulder before he got barely far enough for Gil to neutralize Richard, then stumbling and crashing to the ground. Gil and JT tackled Richard while Dani ran to Bright. She pulled his head into her lap, yanked the tape off his mouth. "Hey, you okay?" 

Pain was written all over his face. "My leg," he said through gritted teeth. "I'm pretty sure it's broken. I can't put much weight on it. And that knife got me pretty good, on the back of my shoulder." 

"Don't worry. You're gonna be okay. We'll get you to the hospital." Dani looked down into his clouded blue eyes. "Bright, I... I'm so sorry. For what I said."

"It's okay. Remind me not to get on your bad side ever again." He managed a weak smile. Dani half-smiled back, shook her head at him. Only Malcolm Bright would be making jokes seconds after being rescued, beaten and bloody and broken. 

Just then an ambulance pulled up, and Gil signaled the EMTs to where Dani and Bright were. JT was loading Richard into the back of the squad car. Gil was comforting Iris. 

"His leg might be broken, be careful," Dani said to the two EMTs who had crouched down to move Bright. They nodded, acknowledging her before carefully lifting him onto the stretcher. 

"Dani," Gil said as she stood up. "Go with Bright to the hospital. I'm gonna get Iris home."

"Take my car," Dani said, tossing him the keys. He caught them and nodded his thanks before guiding Iris in the direction of the car. 

Dani climbed into the back of the ambulance, and as soon as she was settled Bright reached for her hand. She took it and didn't let go of him until they reached the hospital. 

Two weeks, one leg cast, three broken ribs, four missing fingernails, and a whole lot of stitches later, Dani helped Bright hobble into his apartment. 

"Hello, Sunshine," he said to his bird, who chirped happily. "Thanks for taking care of her for me, Dani." 

"Of course," she said. She helped Bright settle in at the counter. "I baked you some welcome-home-slash-apology muffins. They're blueberry. That's your favorite, right?" 

"Yeah, it is. How'd you know?" Bright asked excitedly. 

"You mentioned it in passing a while back. Seemed too important to forget." Bright grinned. 

"You're the best. Thank you so much." He took a muffin, biting off a huge chunk. Dani settled in next to him and took a muffin for herself. 

"Iris was never the killer. She confessed because being in prison for a crime she didn't commit was better than going home to her abusive husband," Bright said. 

"I should've seen it before. The bruises on her... I should've trusted you. I shouldn't have let you go." Dani studied her muffin as she spoke, avoiding Bright's gaze. 

"It was your dad's birthday, right? That combined with the fact that Iris looked like..." He trailed off, shook his head. "You were upset. I could've handled it better."

They sat in silence for a long moment before Bright spoke again. 

"Dani, I... I have something I want to say," he said, suddenly serious. "Between all the torture, I had some time to think, and well, I've missed too many chances to tell you this. To be totally honest I thought I might never get the chance, while I was being held hostage. And based on my luck I might not get too many more chances. So, here goes..." he took a deep breath in. "I'm in love with you, Dani Powell." 

"Bright, I... I love you, too," she said. "I don't want to lose you like that ever again. It's my fault you got kidnapped in the first place and I'm so, so sorry." 

Malcolm gingerly took her hand in his. "Please don't blame yourself. I know you're taking care of me because you feel guilty about what happened."

"I'm taking care of you because I care about you, Bright. I'm not leaving this apartment until you're all healed up." 

Malcolm didn't say anything; he just leaned in and softly kissed her. His lips tasted like the hospital smelled but she couldn't bring herself to care. 

He pulled away first. "Thank you, Dani, for everything," he said quietly. 

"Yeah, of course, Bright. Just tell me what you need and it's yours."

He thought for a moment before saying, "What I need most right now, Dani Powell, is you." He pulled her in for another kiss, and she couldn't help the smile on her lips.


End file.
